solar + batteris
Hi all. I am in proses of installing solar on my FW I planed on installing 2 /150W panels but made mistake when ordering and ordered 2 lots of 2 so have got 4/150W panels, also got 30' of 8AVG cabl...
Forum Discussion
smkettner wrote:
The beauty of the Trimetric 2030 is that it ties into the battery monitor to better control the charge rate.
I don't understand about this being tied into monitor for better control. If there is a sun, any decent controller will do a good job of controlling the charge rate without being tied into battery monitor. When there is no sun, you may try hypnotizing the monitor all you want, but controller won't do a squat.
A PWM controller like Xantrex 40 or Morningstar 45 should be adequate with 4 panels. With battery monitor, yes - mostly to control the consumption side, because this is the only thing that you have any real control over.
One thing I hate more than running a generator, is killing a battery because of insufficient solar wattage. The OP plans to flat-mount them, so with 2 panels there won't be too much juice.
Only people that got their panels 10-12 years ago - and paid 10 times more than it costs today - carry mere 300W on a 5-er of that size. Today most installs are few 24V panels and MPPT controller for total 700-800W - I think I know one such guy and I think he is quite satisfied ;). Simple series wiring with MC4 AWG 10.
